Legal upheaval in Nauru leaves asylum seeker cases in Limbo

TIM PALMER: The government of Nauru has expelled its resident magistrate and barred its chief justice from returning to the country in an unprecedented move against the island-nation's judiciary.

A rift had earlier opened up between the judiciary and the Nauruan government when the courts granted injunctions stopping the government from deporting two residents.

The judicial leaders have accused president Baron Waqa of abusing the rule of law, saying his interference with the judicial system is politically motivated.

The two judicial figures expelled are both Australian citizens and the orders mean that they cannot return to Nauru, leaving questions over how the Pacific nation's court system will be able to function.

PETER LAW: I was found by the police, contacted and came to my place and arrested me because they demanded that I be on the first plane out of Nauru.

MELISSA CLARKE: He says he was quite literally forced out of the country.

PETER LAW: I said to somebody I'd get better treatment in the Congo, you know, because I seriously was jostled and pushed by the arresting officer.

MELISSA CLARKE: He's now back in Brisbane, far from the cases that triggered this legal and political upheaval.

The Nauruan justice minister had declared two residents "prohibited immigrants", and gave them a week to leave the country.

They appealed to the courts and Peter Law granted an injunction against their deportation.

PETER LAW: The orders I gave were simply interim orders until a hearing could be followed through with.

MELISSA CLARKE: The two cases were set to come before the court today. Peter Law was deported yesterday.

The chief justice of the Supreme Court of Nauru, Geoffrey Eames, believes the timing and comments from the government about the cases are revealing.

In a statement he says the actions against resident magistrate Peter Law were "politically motivated, designed to have the decisions overturned by a new magistrate and amounted to an abuse of the rule of law."

Justice Eames intervened, issuing an injunction against the president's deportation of Peter Law, but that was ignored.

Not only was Peter Law put on a plane back to Australia, the Nauruan president then cancelled Justice Eames' visa, preventing him from returning to Nauru to deal with the matter.

Peter Law again.

PETER LAW: To not to follow the chief judge's orders and then to cancel his visa really throws any concept of justice out the window. It's really outrageous.

MELISSA CLARKE: Would you consider that to be a breach of law or of contempt of court?

PETER LAW: Well it is, it is, there's no question. It was a very comprehensive injunction so it's hard to imagine why it was ignored.

MELISSA CLARKE: Were you given an official reason as to why you were deported?

PETER LAW: No, there's no reason given.

MELISSA CLARKE: The chief justice says he was told by the president that the reason for the decision to deport you had to do with allegations of misbehaviour by a former member of staff.

PETER LAW: I had a very disgruntled staff member whom I had to suspend because he became abusive. That's with government but it couldn't possibly be based on those reasons because nobody has examined them or followed them up or spoken to me or anybody else about it.

MELISSA CLARKE: And that wasn't cited to you as a reason?

PETER LAW: No, I've been given no reasons whatsoever but the timing of this makes it very obvious in my mind what it's is all about.

MELISSA CLARKE: What does this mean for justice in Nauru with yourself as the resident magistrate thrown out of the country and the chief justice of the Supreme Court prevented from returning to Nauru - what will happen to the judicial system in Nauru given those circumstances?

PETER LAW: Well, I really don't have any idea but the fact of the matter is it is extremely serious. Just this week we've had 60 or 70 criminal matters listed, including about 30 or 40 of the asylum seeker defendants.

Where all this is going to go I don't know. I'm in the middle of judgements, sentences, so it's just a complete debacle as far as I can see.

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